What changes to disability benefits are the DWP planning? (2024)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech on welfare reform at The Centre for Social Justice, where he was joined by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride. Image: Flickr

The government is plotting reforms to the benefits system which could impact millions of disabled people across the UK.

Changes todisability benefitscould see regular personal independence payments (PIP) replaced with one-off grants or vouchers to cover costs of things like home adaptations or appliances.

The plans have been called a “reckless assault” on disabled people by charities, which fear people will be plunged into deeper poverty and face further hostility as a result of government rhetoric.

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There are more than three million people in the UK who are currently eligible for PIP, a benefit which helps people afford theseextra costs of having a long-term physical or mental health conditionor disability, as well as helping people who have difficulty doing everyday tasks or getting around.

There will be a 12-week consultation into the plans, during which people are invited to share their views around the proposals. The Modernising Support green paper, published on Monday (29 April), lays out the plans in full.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “It’s clear that our disability benefits system isn’t working in the way it was intended, and we’re determined to reform it to ensure it’s sustainable for the future, so we can continue delivering support to those who genuinely need it most.

“Today’s green paper marks the next chapter of our welfare reforms and is part of our plan to make the benefits system fairer to the taxpayer, better targeted to individual needs and harder to exploit by those who are trying to game the system. We’re inviting views from across society to ensure everyone has a chance to make their voices heard and shape our welfare reforms.”

It comes on top of changes already announced around the health element of universal credit, which will see hundreds of thousands of disabled and unwell people miss out on £400 a month by 2029.

The government has also announced that it plans to increase sanctions and conditionality to make it harder to access benefits.

Of course, it’s important to remember that the Conservative government may not be in power by the end of this year, and eyes will be on Labour to see how they react to the plans. The government is also a long way off making these – pretty huge – changes to the benefit system.

Here is everything we know so far about the potential changes to the disability benefits system – including how PIP cash payments could be replaced with grants and vouchers, the changes to eligibility criteria and what Labour has said.

Regular PIP payments could be replaced with one-off grants

The DWP has said it plans to explore “alternative approaches to support” which will replace regular PIP cash payments.

It is considering using one-off grants to help people with significant costs such as home adaptations or expensive equipment, as well as giving vouchers to contribute towards specific costs, or reimbursing claimants who provide receipts for purchases of aids, appliances or services.

The DWP is also considering cutting PIP for some people who have “lower” costs, claiming they “may have better outcomes from improved access to treatment and support than from a cash payment”.

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It claims this would offer more “tailored support” – but the reality is that the government is using language which claims to help disabled people, when the reality is that they could have vital income taken away.

The government cites New Zealand as an example, where the amount of disability allowance is based on a person’s extra costs which are verified by a health practitioner. Norway’s basic benefit requires people to provide a letter from a GP outlining the nature of their condition and the associated extra costs.

But this isn’t dissimilar from the current PIP assessment system, through which people provide (often extensive) medical evidence and are scored in a points-based system. This then provides the basis for the amount they get in disability benefits.

The PIP eligibility criteria could be changed

The DWP claims that “criteria currently used in PIP assessments do not always fully reflect how a disability or health condition impacts on a person’s daily life”.

It gets this right, at least. People with disabilities and serious mental illnesses are often denied PIP, as the Big Issue has extensively reported.

The trouble is, considering the rhetoric the government has used around the disability benefits system, it is likely that it is plotting to tighten the benefits system so that fewer people are entitled to PIP – especially those with mental illness – rather than make it more compassionate.

Just 41% of people are awarded PIP if claiming for the first time, but the success rate of those who appeal PIP decisions is around 70%. Asthe Big Issuehaspreviously reported,the appeals process can be “traumatic”, lengthy and put people off challenging their decision.

Someclaimantshave been driven to “psychological trauma to the point of being suicidal”.

The DWP has forked out more than £350m over the last decade in staff costs in an attempt to uphold decisions about personal independence payments (PIP), according to freedom of information requests obtained by the Big Issue last year.

The DWP claims it is considering whether the thresholds for entitlement correctly reflect the need for ongoing financial support. This includes considering if current descriptors – such as the need for aids and appliances – are good indicators of extra costs.

We know that disability does come with hefty extra costs. On average, disabled households (with at least one disabled adult or child) need an additional £975 a month to have the same standard of living as non-disabled households, according to Scope.

PIP helps people afford theseextra costs of having a long-term physical or mental health conditionor disability, as well as helping people who have difficulty doing everyday tasks or getting around because of their condition.

The DWP is also looking to change the qualifying period for PIP to understand what impact an illness will have on them over time and consider whether it should change the test used to determine if a condition is likely tocontinue long-term.

Again, it could be a good thing and mean that people don’t have to be reassessed if they have a long-term health condition, but there’s not an awful lot of trust that the DWP will make this compassionate step.

The PIP assessment could be reformed and removed entirely for people who are severely ill

The government’s briefing says: “PIP is over a decade old and a lot has changed since the assessment was developed. We know some people continue to find PIP assessments difficult and repetitive, and view the assessment as too subjective.

“We will consider whether some people could receive PIP without needing an assessment by basing entitlement on specific health conditions or disabilities supported by medical evidence.”

This is potentially a welcome move, if carried out in the right way, and it’s a good acknowledgement that the PIP system isn’t working in its current form. The PIP assessments can be “traumatic” for people – the Big Issue once spoke to a domestic violence victim who felt forced to regurgitate her experiences.

The assessments can lead to fears that their benefits are going to be stripped away, and charities have long called for a reform to the system.

But, alongside the DWP threatening to replace PIP and stop people’s cash payments, an end to the assessments is hardly a welcome move. Instead, it is heightening anxiety for disabled people.

Disability activist Ben Claimant said: “I find it very upsetting and it makes me want to scream. I am already seeing distress from my disabled friends.I’m really worried these welfare reforms will have dangerous, tragic consequences for some ofthose people.”

The DWP is also looking at whether evidence of a formal diagnosis by a medical expert should be a requirement to be assessed as eligible for PIP, which it claims will make it “easier and quicker for people with severe or terminal conditions to get the vital support they need”. It does not say what will be used instead of a formal diagnosis by a medical expert.

What has Labour said about the proposed changes to PIP?

Labour is also plotting reforms to the benefit system to get more people into work, but its MPs are calling for a more “compassionate” approach.

Labour’s shadow disability minister Vicky Foxcroft said: “PIP was created by the Tories but isn’t working for disabled people (or the taxpayer). DWP too often fails to get decisions right first time, leading to lengthy delays, reassessments and a stressful appeals process.

“On top of that, the Tories have run the health and care system into the ground. Labour will support disabled people to live independently, enable as many as possible to work and fix the NHS to make sure people get the treatment they need.

“We will be looking at the consultation launched today in close detail, along with the Modernising Support green paper. Disabled people and those with long-term health conditions should not be scapegoated for problems Rishi Sunak and Mel Stride’s own party has created.”

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